Saturday, May 5, 2012

Nationwide Series From Talladega on ABC

Danica was out partying on Talladega Blvd. last night with the fans. She sent along some interesting pics. We can't quite tell what exact look this gentleman was going for but it's clear Danica got a kick out of it.

ABC is the place for the 3PM Nationwide Series race. The ESPN team is in full swing, but Vince Welch is off and Mike Massaro will take his place on pit road.

ABC is reporting all stations nationwide will carry the race live, so no more problems for the West Coast with sports on at noon or the East Coast with telethons or parades.

We will be chatting on Twitter, but please feel free to leave your comment on the coverage right here. Thanks for stopping by The Daly Planet.

I note that Lepage parked Smuts car....*WHEW*....thats a great releif, now we no longer worry about Means losing a car from that non driving Lepage coming out of the pits directly in front of the pack and causing a melee....*wipes brow*

Really up and down coverage. Sometimes showing great wide/blimp shots, then they suck up to incar and bumper cams. I do find that NOT having to deal with babbling double Waltrips definitely increases my interest in the race. And, thankfully, ABC did NOT go to an in car camera of Eric McClure's car after that awful hit. That's a definite improvement. And thanks for an update from Dr. Dick.

I have been listening to Kenny Wallace the whole race and they never showed him crossing the finishing line.According to the ticker he ended up 9th but I never got to see how or why he ended up that way.Who cares, right, Espn.

Interesting to see how NASCAR deals with Danica about her post race crashing of Hornish. I'd bet ESPN would pay any fine as long as she can keep racing.

Caught the end of the Kentucky Derby. It looked like they showed 5 or 6 lead-lap-horses crossing the finish line. Before cutting to the winning owner celebrating and then victorious jockey and horse on the cool-down lap.

Nice job sticking with the coverage while the safety crews worked to get McClure out. I want to applaud ABC (ESPN) for waiting to show the replays until after they received a preliminary statement on his condition, and for only showing it once when they did instead of wearing it out.

Woke up from a nap & heard of the wreck. DVR'd the race (only cause I like the track minus all the wrecking) thru the other wrecks and was horrified. stop the GWC. just more chances to wreck imo. *sigh*

Ugly slam wrecks for many but esp Eric :(

Hope Eric is ok.

But Why are there not SAFER barriers EVERYWHERE nowadays?

I'm tired of hearing how NASCAR still skimps on those. I read on twitter Eric was allegedly speaking after the wreck but no idea what shape. Prayers & good thoughts to him & his doctor.

Let me, please, just state this. There have been two, IMO, well televised races from Talladgea over the last two days.

Usually I am on top of the Magic Bus and there. This time I was not. Both SPEED and ESPN/ABC did a creditable job, again IMO.

But here is the thing: Both ARCA and NNS had a very bad wreck. We now have a driver in UAB Birmingham. My informations says the major concern is if there will be brain swelling. He is alert and seems well, but that is a real early statement so we do not truly know.

I give credit to NASCAR for the Safety improvements in all series. It has helped. ARCA has done similar.

My one complaint, as I know the BigTrack like my backyard is that Eric McClure hit the SAFER Barrier not more than a yard from where it ended. Thank goodness he did. The SAFER Barrier needs to be everywhere and especially at Talladega where the asphalt apron is bigger than Rhode Island in the TriOval.

Also, I did not note even ONE comment on Twitter saying "YAY! A Wreck!" Nobody who loves this sport wants that and to have 2 bad ones during the same week we have been accused of anting one should prove that to some people who shall here go unnamed.

Finally, my opinion only, Sparkle Pony took a cheap xhot at Sam Hornish. She should mind her P's and Q's.

I also want to mention that I saw the replay of the ARCA race yesterday and that Justin did a phenomenal job stepping into the booth as a voice. Really loved his commentary and insight for sure. ADDED alot and did not subtract from the primary voices.

and I agree with you LW...I thought Justin did pretty well. Sometimes he talked a little too much, which is unusual for a newbie, but it was clear he was trying to contribute his best.

I thought this NW broadcast was mediocre, not awful but could have been better. But I felt like it was only because they were in packs so they were forced to show wider shots. I also appreciated them waiting to show the wreck. We've all seen bad wrecks, but at least if you're watching them afterwards you are prepared.

"Sparkle Pony" will be getting a talking to from the PTB...you do not do this at 'dega, even under caution. I like her, but you can't have a temper tantrum here--I only had a quick look before I turned to the channel. But it'll give them all something to talk about tomorrow....and the next week.

I believe it's up to the tracks to place the barriers with guidance from NASCAR, but I agree at 'dega they need it all around, inside & out. I don't know how much it would take to line a road course with it...it would be a phenomenal cost. But if they are using other methods, that counts....tire barriers, kitty litter.

My brother called and told me the race was on ABC. I turned it on just after the big wreck and brought out the red flag. I hope McClure is OK. I saw the car flash by in the replays and I'm glad to see that ABC/ESPN had the good sense to NOT show a bunch of close up shots while his condition was still unknown.

Sorry, I just do not like RP racing. I'm alternately bored and terrified by what is going on pretty much expecting there will be some huge wreck and just hoping that no one is hurt. Regardless of the various media who think the fans don't get it - they are wrong, we do.

Agree with everyone that safer barriers need to be everyone. I've seen Gordon playing "crash test dummy" at far too many tracks and it makes me ill.

I did enjoy hearing Allen in the booth (for the time I was tuned in) and thought it was great how they handled things during the red flag - no over the top nonsense from any of the guys in the booth - it was a nice change.

I taped today's race and just finished watching it. I started with the green flag, so I didn't watch any pre-race ceremonies.

Positives - wider shots, the synergy in the booth, no infield studio, good coverage and follow-ups through the field, refrained from showing a replay of the big wreck until Mr. McClure was confirmed to be alert.

Negatives - did not show the finish beyond fourth place, showed tighter shots as the field settled and became single-file, (assuming that) the pre-race was lame (haha).

That's just a brief outline. A lot of good comments I've read so I'll stop my post here.

I really enjoyed the broadcast, they showed what they could show, didn't matter wide or not, they where just waiting for it to happen. Maybe it was the lack of puppets, ties ins and useless banter that happens on FOX..

Somewhere near the half of the race, it dawned on me that there had not been the usual commercial every 7 or 8 laps and that there was a lot of racing being shown with good wide shots. Booth chatter was focused and timely. I was actually enjoying the coverage although I am not a fan of plate racing. It wasn't perfect, but I was ok with it for once.Now for the Sam and Danica show. I am not a fan of either (Ford first) but usually want them both to do well as they seem to be pleasant and dedicated racers.They both need experience (seat time) in the NASCAR world. Danica ran all day in the big packs, usually near the front, and kept her nose clean. I am sure she learned a lot and gained respect.Sam ran in the back of the field (not even at the back of the pack), did nothing to improve his skills, and did nothing to add to the show. Then with the race winding down, he comes charging up through the pack. He was all over the place, looking totally out of control. He puts Danica in the wall. Danica comes back and returns the favor. Sam had it coming in my fuzzy mind. He didn't earn his strips today, Danica did.All that said, I thought for the most part ABC/ESPN had one of their better days.Hope Eric is ok, haven't heard anything official on his condition yet.Harry in Calif

Here's my thoughts on the replay situation. They should have shown 1 replay immediately after the wreck then go into wait and see mode before showing any more involving that driver.

During the interviews you could hear crews asking for a replay. Most of them missed the wreck since it was on the backstretch. They had no idea what happened to their driver. It happened so fast that it was easily missed even if you had a monitor and a single replay immediately following would have been informative, not gratuitous. Of course a simple solution for that would be a DVR on the pitbox.

I respect the position of not showing a potentially fatal accident for ratings and out of respect for the driver and family. However, a single real time replay (no ooh, aaah slomo) immediately after the incident would be appropriate.

Danica said on the radio, "Looks like no one here likes me!" Ya think? How could anyone like you when you have no talent, no experience, but a FULL TIME ride all year, when mega-owners like Roush, Childress, and all the lesser funded teams have to scrape for sponsor money? And how does Logano not get his butt kicked for starting the wreck that Mclure was in? And why are there Cup guys in any NNS race?

Broadcast flowed alot better without the extra noise of the pit studio and Brewer. Hope that's a permanent change. Still need side by side commercials and a camera shot of all the lead lap cars finishing. Missed a heck of a situation with Hornish and the green car while the director was showing Logano doing NOTHING after the flag.

Anonymous 10:57I have no horse in the race, but I'm curious. How did you know this? It didn't appear to be shown on TV.

Actually it was. I don't always pay that much attention to what the announcers are saying or what the camera is focusing on. I generally look at what is going on with the entire view. Anything out of the ordinary in the back ground gets my attention.The cameras or the announcers did not focus on him as you noted, but there were numerous glimpses of him in action.The 6 car didn't get much attention either, but he was the opposite of the 12. Ran in the back for a while, but he started moving toward the front without being out of control or causing other people problems. He drove through middle of one of the wrecks without damage. He was rewarded with a good finish and a car in one piece.Harry in Calif